The present invention relates to surface covering tiles having integral connecting elements. The tiles are particularly useful to construct portable floor or ground coverings.
Persons who must support themselves on the ground, whether for rest or work, often wish to have a clean, dry, personal surface on which to do so. Further those who must stand for long periods of time on hard surfaces such as concrete flooring, whether interior or exterior, desire a relatively more resilient surface on which to support themselves to lessen the strain. Still further, campers often wish to provide a ground cover adjacent the doors of RV's or trailers or as a floor of a gazebo.
Previous surface covering tiles have allowed only limited portability as they are either too bulky or require too much effort to assemble and disassemble.
By way of example of prior art devices is Canadian patent No. 1,067,738 granted Dec. 11, 1979 to SOLAND relating to a ground covering of interconnections adjacently disposed plates. The plates are tensioned by cables and spaced apart by spacers of a specific construction to help lock adjacent plates from relative movement.
Canadian patent No. 1,145,784 granted May 3, 1983 to BERGQVIST relates to a surface covering and provides a surface covering for game courts and the like comprising a number of mutually detachable joined plates of a moldable resilient plastic. The plates are joined by telescoping peg elements.
Canadian patent No. 2,035,976 granted Mar. 22, 1994 to GElSEN ET AL relates to plates of plastic material for covering terraces and provides a tenon and groove--dovetail top--of connection between adjacent plates.
Canadian laid open application No. 2,077,335 of MacLEOD laid open on Sep. 3, 1991 relates to a cover for an area of ground for a stadium or the like having a plurality of units with vertical orientated male/female connectors and with spikes to support the unit above a grass surface aperture and the construction of the spikes permit for air circulation under the surface of the plates or units. The spikes provide a dangerous aspect to the handling of these units without skilled personnel.
The present invention seeks to provide a surface covering tiles which are easily connected, as portable, resilient and durable and which are easily stored without sharp spikes or the like which could cause injury in handling.